In a nutshell, for a high-quality multivitamin such as a Mytamin:
- You may feel you have better stamina (both mental and physical) and concentration after 1 week of starting a course. However, some people report they feel the improvement almost instantly.
- Studies show there may be a reduction in perceived stress within 4 weeks.
- Research identified that better sleep and better skin could be seen within 8 weeks
How long does it take for vitamins to work?
This is a question we get asked a lot. While we try to make the answer as straightforward as possible, it’s essential to consider the several variables at play here (e.g. deficiency levels, intestinal absorption rate differences between people and other pre-existing conditions). However, at its most basic, it can be surprisingly quick!
The second you swallow a vitamin, it gets taken straight to the stomach, where it passes through to the small intestine, where most of the absorption occurs.
In the small intestine’s lumen, there are several transporter proteins on enterocytes (the cells lining the intestines) that are specific for many of the individual water-soluble components of a multivitamin. These move these vitamins into the bloodstream. The notable exception here is Vitamin B12, whose mechanism of absorption is slightly more complicated.
Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are similarly absorbed in the small intestine. Instead of using transported proteins, they are mixed with fats and bile acids and diffuse into the enterocytes. From there, instead of diffusing directly into the blood, they tend to be incorporated into chylomicrons (fat transporters), which travel along with the lymph system before entering the bloodstream through the thoracic lymph duct (complicated, I know!).
The above process seems long and tedious but can happen very quickly. This is especially true of water-soluble vitamins. These tend to become absorbed within a few hours.
Once in the bloodstream, these vitamins are finally available to be utilised by the body and can finally start working on their respective metabolic processes!
How long does it take to feel a difference after taking a vitamin?
Once in the bloodstream, the vitamins can start being incorporated by the several biological processes they are involved in.
From research, we can offer a glimpse into how long it may take for you to feel a difference after taking a high-quality multivitamin.
Within 2 weeks
You may start to feel like your stamina and concentration are improving, as well as your alertness.
Peak levels of Vitamin C’s antioxidant action in the skin takes place.
After 1 month:
There may be a marked reduction in perception of stress and a reduction in anxiety levels.
You may feel a general improvement in your mood
Your stamina and concentration continue improving
You may notice that your muscle strength is improving
After 2 months:
Now, statistically significant anti-inflammatory effects can be seen on clinical blood tests.
You may notice that you’re sleeping much better.
After 3 months:
You may notice an improvement in your hair health.
After 6 months:
Nail health improves significantly
You may notice an improvement in cognition
All of the above benefits continue to enhance
At 6 months, it is more than likely (if you were on an appropriate multivitamin course) that your vitamins levels are now optimised. As many vitamins are unfortunately not made by the body, you must continue taking a baseline multivitamin or improve your diet to maintain your levels.
If you need help with finding the right multivitamin, we at Mytamin, are happy to help. Based on your home fingerprick blood tests (we don’t like wishy-washy subjective questionnaires here), we can recommend you personalised vitamin regimes. After 6 months we hope you would see the benefits listed above. At that point, we will offer you a retest to see what progress you’ve made and to allow us to retailor your vitamin plan should you need it.
If you have any further questions about how long vitamins take to work, send us a message, and we’ll get back to you very soon!
Our lovely references, with thanks:
- Tardy, A., Pouteau, E., Marquez, D., Yilmaz, C. and Scholey, A., 2020. Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients, 12(1), p.228.
- Said, H., 2011. Intestinal absorption of water-soluble vitamins in health and disease. Biochemical Journal, 437(3), pp.357-372.
- Said, H., 2004. Recent Advances in Carrier-Mediated Intestinal Absorption of Water-Soluble Vitamins. Annual Review of Physiology, 66(1), pp.419-446.
- Lauer, A., Groth, N., Haag, S., Darvin, M., Lademann, J. and Meinke, M., 2013. Dose-Dependent Vitamin C Uptake and Radical Scavenging Activity in Human Skin Measured with in vivo Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 26(3), pp.147-154.
- Iqbal, J. and Hussain, M., 2009. Intestinal lipid absorption. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, 296(6), pp.E1183-E1194.
- Hochman, L., 1993. Brittle nails: response to daily biotin supplementation. Cutis, Apr 51(4), pp.303-5.
- Ellulu, M., Rahmat, A., Ismail, P., Khaza’ai, H. and Abed, Y., 2015. Effect of vitamin C on inflammation and metabolic markers in hypertensive and/or diabetic obese adults: a randomized controlled trial. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, p.3405.
- Almohanna, H., Ahmed, A., Tsatalis, J. and Tosti, A., 2018. The Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Hair Loss: A Review. Dermatology and Therapy, 9(1), pp.51-70.
